Improvement in horse-rakes



dilated tant aient N @twine Letters Patent No. 91,858, dated June 219, 1869.

i IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all 'whom it mag/concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. MCGLELLAND, of Springfield, in the-county of Sangamon, and in the State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Horse Hay-Rake and do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon. i

The nature of my invention consists in an improved construction of the different .parts of a horse hay-rake, and in the combination and arrangement of the same.

Figure A Arepresents a rside view of the rake, the black lines indicating the position of the lever, rakehead, and teeth, when the rake is at work, and the l red lines indicating the position of the same when the operator is dumping the hay.

The frame of the rake consists of a pair of shafts, a a, elevated above the wheels b b, with the two crossbars'c c, one directly over the centre of the wheels l),

and the other a short distance forward of the wheel.

Upon these cross-bars the seat d is placed.

Extending downward from the outside or inside, as may be desired, of the shafts a a, and directly under, the` rear cross-bar c., are the two crank-arms e e, to which the wheels b b are attached.

By this arrangement we dispense with an axle-tree, and whenever we desire to raise the wheels b l higher than the shafts a a, these crank-arms e e can be attached to the outside of the shafts a a.

By this arrangement also the wheels b b are placed before the rake-head, and their track is thus made much narrower than in other rakes which have theirwheels outside of their rake-head.

rlhe track of the wheels being thus made narrower', and always inside of the rakehead, the wheels themselves never runfover the windrow, and the rake is not thrown ont of its level position when being discharged 4of its load of hay.

Again, by this varrangement of the wheels b I), the track being narrower, the gdraught is shortened and made easier.

The weight of everything, also, comes directly over the wheels, and thus the .rake-head is relieved from all strain:

The shafts a a eXt'e-ndbackward from the wheels sniciently far to give the rake-head and teeth full Y pla-y in the rear of the wheels b' b, Awithout interfering with the same.

The rake-head f is'attached to the rear end.of shafts a a, by means of the wooden pieces g g, iitted to, corresponding with, and lapping upon the top of the shafts a a, as far up as the rear cross-bars e e, which wooden pieces g g are fastened to the shafts a a bythe spring-hinges h It and the adjusting-screws fi t.

T hese'screws i perform the oice of adjusting the rake-head to uneven ground, andvby simply'screwing or unscrewing which, the play of the rake-headis de creased or increased.

The hinges h h are composed ofilat pieces of elastic steel, one end fastened by a screw to' the top of the wooden piece g, the. other to the top of the cross-bar c, the-elasticity of the steelaiording suficient spring.

The rake-head f is connected with the ends of these wooden pieces g g, by the metal bands k k, in which the rake-head f makes a semi-revolutionv when operated upon by the lever Z.

Figure O shows the method of attaching the teeth m fm. to the rake-head.

These teeth m m consist of a single piece of wire, semicircnlar in shape from the ground to the rakehead. v

The end nearest the rake-head is coiled any desired number of times over awooden or metal rod, a, which is close up toand parallel with the rake-head f, and then, after being so coiled,`it-is thrust into and through the mortise t, made in the rake-head, and after pene'- trating the same, is bent outward, so as to clasp the wood on theside of the lnortise.

The' ends of two teeth, after being coiled around the rod a, as described, are insertedin the same mortise,

and then bent outward, and a wedge, o, driven into the mortise between them, to make them more sel cure.

A double` wire brace, p, is attached to every ten teeth.` lhis consist-s of one piece of wire fastened secrely by one end in the top of the rake-head j, and passing over and parallel with the back of one tooth, m, until it reaches nearly the centre; it is then bent and looped around that tooth, and passed across to the next one, whose end is inserted in the same mortise' in the rake-head, and looped around that in. thesame way, and then is bent again and passed upward over the second tooth, and the end of itinserted in the rake-head asthe other end was. Y

This double brace p prevents the teeth from being too elastic when loaded heavily.

Q is a foot-lock, which keeps the rake-head in place, and consists of a strip oi' wood fastened at the but to the rake-head f, and extending forward under the drivers seat, is fastened by the catch c. The foot of the driver slides this out of the catch Awhenlhe wishes to' raise the teeth to dump the hay by means of the lever l.

-Z is a jointed lever, which, in the hands ofthe driv-l er, vcauses the semi-revolution of the rake-head. It'

consists of the short piece 1, extending upward from the rake-head, where the long strip 2 is hinged to it, which extends downward underneath the cross-.bar c, where it is jointed again with the upright strip 3.

The red lines in Fig. A indicate its line of motion, and its position when the teeth are raised.

The spokes and hubs ot' the wheels b 'b consist of the same. pieces of wood, of which only four compose the whole.

Figure D represents the shape of thesel four pieces of wood that compose this kind of wheel.

The four pieces in the wheel b, marked 1, 2, 3, and 4, form ten crosses, each cross composed of two pieces of wood, made broad and strong in the centre, and notched so as to tit into each other, and present a smooth surface, and both crosses are fastened rmly together in the centre, so as to form a solid hub with eight spokes.

This hub is still further strengthened by putting an iron flange, S S,on each side, and binding themA to the hub by bolts and screws.

Now, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination and-arrangement of the rakehead f and wooden pieces g g with the spring-bars h h,

and adjusting-screw 't i, in the manner-'and for the pur poses described.

2. The combination of the rake-head fwith the footlock Q, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The construction and arrangement of the four pieces 1, 2,. 3, 4, either` of wood or metal, forming the hub and spokes of the wheel b, 'substantially as herein described and for the purposes set forth.

4. These four pieces 1, 2, 3, 4, constructed and `joined together', as described, with the anges S S, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim theA foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand, this 6th day of April, 1869.

ROBERT W. MCCLELLAND.

Witnesses GEORGE P. MARGY, E. B. BIERCE. 

